by J E Mueller
“I’m worried that you’ll rush off when help arrives,” Lee admitted. “You can wait until after this has cleared up to leave. How long has it been since anyone’s seen you? Even if you were to randomly run into someone you may remember, do you think they’d know you? Either way, I accept that you’ll be traveling again soon. I just worry that you’ll jump the moment you can and leave before it's safe or reasonable to do so.”
“I suppose that is a valid reason to worry.” I nodded, trying to be reasonable, “I’ll think about what you have said.” I slowly headed toward the door. “I’m going to find Tella. I will see you later.”
“Okay,” he said, only half convinced as he finished what he was working on.
The day went by quickly. I helped Tella get a lot done, and in truth, she was excited to see me. I didn’t realize how glad I was to be wrong about her reaction to me. Her mother hadn’t held back any information and today's ongoing events worried her, but she didn’t close up. She wanted to talk.
“Do you think we’ll get help in time?” she asked bluntly as we worked.
“I do actually.” I didn’t lie. “Do you learn anything about the king and queen out here?”
“Yeah! Bunches,” she confirmed.
“And don’t you think they’ll send help right away? Aren’t they good about protecting their own people?” I hoped that my reasoning would become clear through my questions.
“Of course! They want to keep their kingdom strong, and it can only stay strong if it works together.” A light appeared in Tella’s eyes. “Oooooh! So by helping defend us, they are helping us to be accepted by the realm. Yeah. I don’t know why I was worried.” She nodded to herself.
“It’s okay to worry. There’s a lot that can still happen, but we will continue to defend ourselves. In the end, those bad guys won’t win. We’ll get the aid we need and the king won’t just push back. He’ll see to it that this ends.”
Tella’s eyes widened with hope. I hoped everything would play out exactly as I wanted it to. I didn’t want to see her be disappointed.
By sunset I got her to relax as we sat outside of Juni’s home and made bracelets out of beads and charms. Tella knew how to make different braids with yarn, but quickly got bored with it until she learned that I didn’t know them all. By the time Lee got back, Tella -while wearing gloves- was braiding ribbons into my hair.
“You look like you’re having fun.” He chuckled as he walked up to us.
“Isn’t she pretty now? Her hair was so messy,” Tella stated matter-of-factly.
I rolled my eyes. “Having it pulled back isn’t messy, it's convenient.” It was the truth.
“I can make you pretty every day,” Tella insisted.
“Only if you remember to wear gloves,” I agreed with some reluctance.
“Can I call you Aunty Key?” Tella asked, surprising me.
Lee started laughing hysterically. Tella either ignored him or just didn’t understand why it was funny.
“Why do you want to call me that?” I asked, “Key is easier to say.” And didn’t imply anything.
“Because you're nice and fun, and you saved me and you’re like family now,” Tella replied.
I smiled, “As long as you know I’m not your actual aunty.”
“Why can’t you be?” she asked.
I blushed and Lee laughed harder. This was not a conversation I wanted to get into at this moment.
“That would require marriage, and I’d have to leave my fun travels behind,” I replied simply.
“Or Aunty Juni could adopt you!” Tella supplied.
I cracked up a bit at that. “Lee and I would make terrible siblings.”
“Yeah, he’s always gotta be right.” She nodded in agreement, giving him an irked look. “It’s annoying.”
“Yes, it’s true,” I smirked.
“This conversation took an unexpected turn.” Lee sighed. “And I’m not always right.”
“Uh-huh.” Tella and I said in unison as Lee headed inside.
“It would be pretty cool if you were my aunt,” Tella stated happily.
“I can be pretty cool and not be your aunt, can’t I?” I smiled at her.
She nodded happily as her stomach growled, “Do you think Aunt Juni has dinner done?”
“Go check, I’ll gather everything up,” I shooed her inside as I gathered everything up into the box Tella had brought with earlier.
Walking inside, I set the box down and Tella bounced out of the kitchen.
“Dinner’s almost done. Going to find Mommy!” She dashed off with her magic.
I nodded to myself. Running magic was pretty useful. I went into the kitchen where Lee was still laughing and Juni was having a hard time repressing a chuckle.
“I see everyone’s up to date on Tella’s wonderful ideas. I’ll be out here then.” I shook my head and went back into the living room. Lee laughed harder.
I sat down in the chair when Tella came dashing back in. “Mother’s almost here.” She announced.
“That’s good. Go and set the table.” I instructed her so that I could avoid the kitchen myself.
As she went skipping off she did so, Lee came to sit in the living room with me.
“See? Knew she’d be glad to see you.”
“Mmmhmm.” I nodded, picking up my crochet project. It looked terrible, but I’d figure it out.
“She has some great questions doesn't she?”
“That she does. I wonder what could inspire such wonderful questions.” I eyed him warily.
“I might have suggested that it would be pretty cool if you stayed here for a while.” Lee shrugged, “The rest was all on her.”
“It’s not fair to get her hopes up,” I pointed out.
“Then it’ll be good to tie up loose ends and let her know you’re leaving soon. She’ll miss you a lot,” Lee replied as he sprawled out on the sofa.
Juni appeared in the doorway. “Time for dinner.”
I looked up and smiled at her. “Thank you for the gift, Juni. That was really kind and not necessary.” I hadn’t had a chance to really thank her for the necklace yet.
“You could use some luck and balance in your life.” Juni waved it off. “Come and eat.” At that moment her sister, Aiko, and Marc arrived just in time for dinner to be served.
As soon as everyone was full we went out into the living room. Juni sat in her normal chair, and her sister took the only other one in the room. Marc and Lee sat on the floor playing cards. Tella sat with me on the sofa and was trying to show me more things to do with yarn.
It was getting rather late when Tella yawned loudly. “You’ll be here tomorrow, right?” she asked me urgently.
I nodded. “Yep. Go get some sleep.”
Aiko nodded at her kids. “Come on, let’s go.”
Marc got up and pointed at Lee, “Best three of seven tomorrow. This wasn’t a fair match.” Lee just laughed.
“Let’s go.” Aiko ushered her kids to the door, smiling. “Thanks for everything today, Juniper.”
“Of course, sister.” Juni waved her off. “You’d do the same for me. Sleep well.”
“Are you going to be here all week?” Tella asked me. She clearly didn’t want to leave just yet.
“Probably. Don’t worry, I’ll be here while all this nonsense is going on. Us tough girls have to stick together right?” I assured her.
“Yeah! You should stay forever! Or maybe I can travel with you in a few years?” She asked excitedly.
I smiled at her. “Maybe. Never know what the future will bring right?” Maybe in a few years that would be fun. She had some good skills, and hopefully, by then I’d have better control over my curse. Things were going in the right direction overall there.
Aiko shook her head, exasperated. “Last night she didn’t want to step foot from here, and now she wants to go adventuring. This child. Let’s go, kids. Now.”
“I’d say things are going well.” Juni laughed, “Good night.”
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After they had left, Lee took a moment to join me on the sofa. “So…”
I rolled my eyes at him. “Just because I can’t magically kill you doesn’t mean I can’t strangle you for whatever you're about to say.”
Juni just laughed. “You had better mind your manners, Lee. I’m on her side.”
“Betrayed, by my own mother!” he gasped dramatically.
I laughed, “Best mother award goes to…”
“Funny. Funny.” Lee shook his head. “Either way, I think Tella’s right. Stay through the cold season. If you hate it so much you can go anywhere else, but you’ve got to admit, it’s nice here. The people grow on you.”
I started taking the ribbons out of my hair. “If you’re alive by the end of this invasion nonsense I may consider it. If not, I’ll be on the run from Juni.”
Juni laughed while getting up. “He probably had it coming. Good night, kids.”
“Nevermind, then. I’ll stay and take over your room instead of running,” I teased.
“Betrayed again.” He gave a mock sigh. “Night mother, sweet dreams. Remember, I’m still the best kid you’ve ever had!”
Juni laughed as she left. “Love you too, baby boy.”
I yawned. “Does this mean I can finally sleep? Wait, no one ever said how things went today.”
“We’re avoiding giving out too many details around Tella, but well enough. They were pushed back, but now the mob is angry and mostly drunk. There will be more days like this so it’s just a matter of responding as soon as they are gutsy enough to try and gain more ground. We need to keep them back until help arrives.”
“Is it going to be possible?” I wondered if my guesses earlier had been incorrect.
“Yeah, as long as they don’t pull something crazy, we’ve got this,” Lee replied, but without his usual confidence.
“What’s bugging you?” I asked, not wanting to dance around it.
“We’ve got a group that’s more than one hundred ten percent against us in the woods nearby, slowly pulling out all the stops to come at us. They are getting angrier and drunker. There’s really no telling what kind of bad idea is going to be seen as a brilliant plan and turn the tides in their favor. There are just too many possibilities. We would need someone to tell us their magic visions of the future at all hours, and no one has the strength or power to do that. It makes a lot of us nervous. But we’ll keep doing what we’re doing and hope for the best.”
“I’m sorry,” That felt lame to say but it was all I could think of.
“It’s not your fault.” He shrugged, trying to be more nonchalant.
“Still, it’s the town you love. You’ve grown up here and it means a lot to you. You love the people here. It sucks that this is going on and I’m sorry for it.”
“Thanks,” he said, then suddenly hugged me.
I froze but let it happen.
He released me after a moment. “I’ll never remember you have a bubble.”
“It’s healthy. Some personal space is nice,” I replied a bit sarcastically.
“Like this?” He leaned against me.
“Haha…” I eyed him warily.
“Or this?” Lee sprawled out on top of me as much as possible so I shoved him off the sofa.
He laughed and rejoined me, this time staying in his own spot.
“You’re ridiculous,” I told him.
“And wonderful. Don’t forget that part.”
“Wouldn’t go that far.” I yawned and stretched.
“Can I ask you something?”
“That didn’t sound like much of a question.” I was curious what he had to ask though.
He waved off my comment. “Anyway… Does my joking around actually bother you?” He was suddenly serious.
It surprised me that he asked, but I did give it a moment's thought. “No, not really. Giving me more warning about physical interactions would be nice, but I guess that ruins the moment of a hug.”
Lee laughed. “I’m going to hug you now.” He promptly did.
“You’re still ridiculous. I’m going to bed.” I laughed at him.
Lee let go. “See you in the morning, then.”
18
During the week I fell into a routine. Most of my time was spent with Tella, my new little shadow. I didn’t mind her company, and she took great care to respect my space and remember her own gloves so that she could have fun with my hair and actively interact with me. It was actually kind of fun to have a friend who could touch me safely and was equally respectful.
Lee spent a lot of his time helping around town, and I hardly saw him until it had been eight days since the riders had left. Anticipation hung thickly in the air. The riders could return with news at any time.
With all that was going on, there hadn’t actually been time to make more progress with my magic. Much to my surprise, I was feeling more and more like bringing it up. One night when everyone else was heading to bed, I mentioned it to Lee.
“So, there's been no time to practice my magic at all.” I didn’t know what I wanted to do with it, but I felt the urge to try something and have some form of control over it again.
Lee nodded. “I’ve been thinking about that, but there isn’t really a great time except at night. If you want we can use this time to try more.”
I hesitated, considering it in more detail. “I don’t think I’ll ever one hundred percent believe I can’t kill you.”
“Aside from me not dying when you touch me, I can’t really prove that to you.” He shook his head and used his own magic for a moment. “But it looks like I’ll live again tonight, so the coast is clear.”
“I don’t even know where to begin,” I was excited to start but the where and how were beyond me.
“Well, you can start by trying to command your magic away from the spot of contact,” Lee stretched as he got up.
I did the same and took off my gloves. “I don’t see this working.”
Lee shrugged. “Then we will try a hundred times just to be sure and move on to the next thing if it really isn’t working.” He radiated confidence.
“Your optimism needs to be more contagious.” I sighed but offered him my hand.
He took my hand in his and I could feel my magic bursting with glee to meet his and attack. Over and over I tried commanding it away and pushing against it, but it wasn’t enough.
“We need a different tactic,” Lee said, thinking out loud. “I wonder if instead, I used my magic to push against yours if it would recede.”
We tried it and at first, it seemed like it would work, but again mine burst through. We tried over and over but every time it seemed like it was about to work it would fail. We tried with all his elemental magic until I felt dizzy.
“I guess we should stop for now.” He said holding my arm carefully as I swayed for a moment.
My vision blurred for a moment before I could shake it off. My magic had never felt attacked before, and it was surprisingly tiring. I felt as if I had been running for miles after going without sleep for several days. Suddenly everything started to spin and I could barely stand.
Lee moved me over to the sofa. “That’s an interesting reaction. We’ll have to ask Lela about that later.”
I nodded and the motion made me feel sick. “I think I’ll sleep this off.” I tried getting up but fell back down.
“You can stay here.” He went and grabbed a blanket and my pillow.
“I don’t like this. Everything feels wrong. I don’t normally feel sick,” I admitted as he made the sofa more comfortable for me.
“It’ll be all right. Get some rest and you’ll be back to your normal self in the morning,” he assured me.
“I’d better be normal tomorrow.” I kept my eyes closed in an effort to block the dizziness.
“Want me to stay out here with you?” he asked.
I didn’t know what to say as my head spun, “I don’t know.”
He didn’t say anything else and soon I drift
ed off. There was no doubt in my mind that he did end up staying with me, at least for a while.
When morning finally came and I awoke I wasn’t feeling normal yet, but better than the night before. The dizziness was gone and my stomach felt close to how it usually did. I could hear Lee and Juni speaking softly in the kitchen and took note of the blanket draped over the nearby chair. I got up carefully and joined them.
“You’re looking better,” Lee said happily as I entered the kitchen.
“Eh.” I shrugged and took a seat. “Almost feeling better.”
“What’s still wrong?” He asked, surprised.
“Drained and I don’t know…. It’s hard to put my finger on. Just not completely better.”
Juni interrupted our conversation by handing me a plate. “Let’s see if some food does the trick. Can’t hurt, anyway.”
“Thank you,” I hoped it would settle my stomach.
“Lela might have some more answers for you. I’ll make time to stop by and ask,” Lee added, taking a plate for himself.
“Just be careful with your practicing,” Juni warned. “Take small steps, and don’t overwork yourselves. A long day isn’t always best for these things.”
“Yes, Mother. We’ll be careful,” Lee agreed between bites of his own food.
By the time evening swept in I was feeling pretty tired. It was almost an unpleasant sight to see Lela standing outside talking with Lee.
“What’s the word?” I asked through a yawn.
“Lela thinks our magic is not compatible in the way we were using it,” Lee explained.
Lela nodded. “In the long run it has a very slim possibility of working well, and at that, it still gives no true control of the magic at hand. It’s just fighting, which will not go far. One side or the other will eventually win. At the least, I can see it knocking Key out, and at the most, I can see it being your death. You need to stop using it to combat one another,” she told Lee sternly.
“Well, that’s a bummer. It can’t even be used to bring her magic’s effects down a notch so she can interact normally?” Lee questioned.
“No.” She shook her head. “It will just slowly drain both of you. It’s too high of a risk.” Lela turned to me. “Having control is within your power, you just have to find the right way to exercise it and it will it to work for you. You are as fierce as the power within you. Don’t let your fire outshine you and tell you otherwise.”